In an interview with Rolling Stone, the three-time Golden Globe-winning Office co-creator insisted that it's perfectly acceptable to mock celebrities during awards ceremonies.

He said: "If you can't tease the richest, most powerful people in the world, who can be the butt of your jokes?"

Gervais went on to suggest that the matter had been completely blown out of proportion and that no-one he's spoken to was actually angered by his jests.

"It was six or seven one-liners, throwaways I wrote in an hour. It was nothing," he added. "Let's go through them one by one. Johnny Depp wasn't offended. I've spoken to him about five times since. Hugh Hefner tweeted he wasn't offended. I can't imagine Bruce Willis being offended. I did nothing wrong. I know I didn't."